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Topic: My first focaccia (Read 5473 times)

I took a crack at making focaccia for the very first time yesterday and it was a smashing success. I based the dough on my Victory Pig Style pizza dough as described in the Sicilian Style sub forum. I knew however that somehow, even the 67% hydration of my pizza dough wasn't going to be enough so I increased it to 72% for the focaccia dough. The dough recipe is as follows:

I weighed all of the ingredients into the mix as usual then pulsed my Bosch Universal PLus until it came together. I then let it rest 15 mins, then knead at low speed for 8 minutes. This very sticky mixed dough was then put into a 12x17 blue steel pan (one of my pizza pans) w/ 1 oz of unrefined peanut oil. I covered the pan and set it aside to rise. After 3 hours, it had filled the pan at that point and I poked holes w/ my index finger across the top of the dough. I then re-covered it, and set it aside for two hours. I then drizzled EVOO on top and spread it around with a pastry brush. Then, came ground sea salt, ground black pepper, roughly chopped fresh rosemary, and shredded parmigiana reggiano. Next, I baked it in a 375 degree oven in convection mode for 18 minutes.

When I took it out, it was nicely browned both top & bottom and it has shrunk away from the sides of the pan by a fraction of an inch as I had expected. It easily slid out of the pan onto a rack where I let it cool for two hours prior to slicing. I sliced it using a pizza cutter and served it in a woven, lined basket. I made it for a marinara sauce cook off that we hosted at our house with a few neighbors.

The focaccia turned out beautifully and our guests raved about it. It is soft & airy w/ a lovely blend of flavors w/ the right amount of saltiness offsetting the olive oil & rosemary flavors and just a bit of twang from the parmigiana. I will definitely make this again.

Yep, when I cook for the church coffee hour, it is always a hit, I cut it and serve it a lined basket as well. Fast, cheap, and easy, and oh so good. Don't forget some EVOO with coarse ground pepper, sea salt and more rosemary to dip it in.